Members of the Arts Program at GFWC Service Guild of Covington gathered at Covington City Hall to have Mayor Ronnie Johnston sign a Proclamation partnering the National Council for Art Education and the National Council for the Arts with Covington and Newton County schools, encouraging public support of quality student art programs.

Kelsey Upton was just 15 years old when she received a terrifying text from a registered sex offender in another state. The middle-aged man had seen a pornographic image of another woman that had been posted online along with Kelsey's name, phone number and address in Oxford.

The Covington City Council will vote on amending provisions of the electric system and water system ordinances during Monday's council meeting, possibly reducing city revenue by approximately $700,000.

A long time Covington citizen, Sarah Frances Hardeman, born to George Washington Thompson and Lillie Davis- Thompson in 1918, is being recognized and honored for her legendary acts and community service in Covington.

Brian Keith Terrell, the man convicted of killing 70-year-old John Watson in his Covington home in 1992 is scheduled to be executed March 10 at 7 p.m., Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens announced Friday.

The Newton County Sheriff's Office will hold its Citizen's Firearm Safety Course March 28, teaching the public on laws governing use of deadly force, firearm safety, at and away from the firing range, nomenclature of the basic revolver and semiautomatic pistols and giving citizens a chance to complete a course of fire at the Newton County Sheriffs Office Firing Range.

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The defense opened its presentation on Wednesday in the trial of Cobey Wade Lakemper with testimony from a psychiatrist who said that Lakemper was suffering from mental illnesses at the time of the murder of Wendy Cartledge-Carter, and for much of his life.

WINDER - Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, with its 18 miles of volunteer-built mountain bike trails, has become a hotspot for urban adventurers who have turned one of the least-used parks in the state into a pedal-fueled economic engine.

Championship talent: The Covington Cavaliers 15 & under ninth grade AAU basketball team is ranked No. 1 in the state and ninth nationally. The Cavaliers have won two of the first three tournaments they've played in so far with a second place in the other. Derrius Mathis, Juwan Henderson and Anthony Henderson won MVP honors at the Battle of Suwanee last weekend.

Kelsey Upton was able to face the young man who reportedly put her contact information on a pornographic website during a recent hearing of the commandment board of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. where he is a cadet.

The decade that ended last year saw the lofty height of the housing boom and, everyone hopes, the bottom of the recession. The 2010 Census numbers tell the tale and show some shifting trends, but officials are split on whether Newton County will rebound with robust growth in the next decade or whether rising gas prices, continuing transportation issues and a lack of high-end development will shift Atlanta's growth north and back inside the perimeter.

The murder trial of Cobey Wade Lakemper continues this week, with witnesses from Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee taking the stand in an effort to show jurors that Lakemper was on a multi-state crime spree in 2005 when he allegedly shot hotel clerk Wendy Cartledge-Carter; a crime spree that had already resulted in two murders before he arrived in Covington.

The Covington Municipal Airport continues to draw interest from a light, personal aircraft maker that is looking to build a 100,000 square-foot facility and employ around 80 workers in its initial stage.

In an effort to show jurors on Monday that Cobey Wade Lakemper was on a multi-state crime spree in 2005 when he allegedly shot hotel clerk Wendy Cartledge-Carter, Newton County District Attorney Layla Zon presented witnesses from North Carolina who testified about the murders of an elderly couple.

ATLANTA - Georgia's death penalty statute was in the crosshairs again Monday as the state's top court considered whether capital defendants have to meet an unfair standard to prove they are mentally disabled to avoid an execution.

The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday from Alphonso Stripling, who claims the state cannot seek the death penalty against him for the 1988 killings of two co-workers because he is mentally disabled. Prosecutors, meanwhile, say they want the chance to prove he is mentally competent.